An acid-catalyzed ring-switch reaction of lactams to lactones: concise synthesis of 2,4-dialkyl-3-hydroxybutanolides

A novel approach for the synthesis of 2,4-dialkyl-3-hydroxybutanolides, having three successive stereogenic centers, by an acid-catalyzed ring-switch reaction of 2-(2-hydroxyalkyl)lactams is described. This transformation was applied to the synthesis of the key intermediates of teromerase inhibitor UCS1025A.     

Cellulose wet wiper sheets prepared with cationic polymer and carboxymethyl cellulose using a papermaking technique

Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)-rich cellulose sheets were prepared with a cationic retention aid, poly[N,N,N-trimethyl-N-(2-methacryloxyethyl)ammonium chloride] (PTMMAC), using a papermaking technique. When 5% PTMMAC and 5% CMC were added to cellulose slurries, approximately 94% of the polymers were retained in the sheets by formation of polyion complexes between the two polymers. When the PTMMAC/CMC/cellulose sheets were soaked in solutions consisting of ethanol, water and calcium chloride (EtOH/H₂O/CaCl₂) with a weight ratio of 75:24:1, almost all PTMMAC and CMC molecules remained in the sheets, forming the structures of PTMMAC-N⁺Cl⁻ and CMC-COO⁻Ca²⁺Cl⁻ without dissolution of these molecules in the soaking solution. Thus, PTMMAC, CMC and calcium contents in the sheets were able to be determined on the basis of these PTMMAC and CMC structures from analytical data such as nitrogen, calcium and chlorine contents. The trade-off properties between sufficient wet strength in use and water-disintegrability after use can be added to the PTMMAC/CMC/cellulose sheets by selecting weight ratios of the EtOH/H₂O/CaCl₂ solution used as the impregnation liquid.     

Double nucleophilic N-alkylation of α-oxime-esters with Grignard reagents

Double nucleophilic N-alkylation of α-oxime-esters, affording N,N-dialkyl-α-amino acids is herein described. Grignard reagents accomplished double N-alkylations via umpolung and various N,N-dialkylated α-amino acids were successfully synthesized in 15 min. Both electron-withdrawing sulfonyl groups and electron-donating silyl and methyl groups on oximes were available. Alkylmagnesium species and (E)-configuration of α-oxime-ester were essential to this cascade reaction.     

Cluster-Orbital Shell Model Approach with a Treatment of Partially Pauli-Forbidden States

We study the origin of a sudden change of the radius of oxygen isotopes at ²³O in terms of a coupled-channel model approach. We use the cluster-orbital shell model approach for describing the system. Qualitatively, the sudden change of the radius can be understood as the competition of occupation of the valence neutrons and the component of the core configuration. For the ²³O case, the effect of the partially Pauli-forbidden states of the 1s _1/2-orbit is small in the excited-core configuration.     

Hydrophilic polymer supported nanoparticles prepared from samarium trichloride and lanthanum trichloride in liquid-phase

Nanoparticles were obtained by the reaction of SmCl₃·6H₂O with sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) in the presence of sodium polyacrylate (PAA) with average molecular weight of 5,100 as a capping polymer. The resulting colloidal solution was placed on a Cu grid and characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM) measurement, which clearly indicated the generation of nanoparticles. The reaction of LaCl₃ with NaBH₄ in the presence of PAA led to preparation of lanthanum nanoparticles, similarly as samarium nanoparticles.     

Algebraic approach to chiral anomalies: General solution of the consistency condition

General form of nontrivial solutions of the Wess-Zumino consistency condition is derived, and the uniqueness of the chiral anomalies is discussed. Whole of the argument is based on the algebraic treatment of the problem in the extended Euclidean space-time of the dimension higher than six. Particularly crucial to the argument is a lemma, the proof of which is presented in detail.     

Oxidation of substrates having labile hydrogens by superoxide in the presence of phosgene dimer

Superoxide (O₂^?) oxidized substrates having labile hydrogens to ketones in the presence of phosgene dimer. Oxidations with similar treatment of alkynes were examined. The reaction mechanism was also discussed.     

Frustration-induced eta inversion in the S=1/2 bond-alternating spin chain

We study the frustration-induced enhancement of the incommensurate correlation for a bond-alternating quantum spin chain in a magnetic field, which is associated with a quasi-one-dimensional organic compound F5PNN. We investigate the temperature dependence of the staggered susceptibilities by using the density matrix renormalization group, and then find that the incommensurate correlation becomes dominant in a certain range of the magnetic field. We also discuss the mechanism of this enhancement on the basis of the mapping to the effective S=1/2 XXZ chain and a possibility of the field-induced incommensurate long-range order.